escapist
Americannoun
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a person who avoids reality by becoming absorbed in entertainment or fantasy.
I, for one, am an escapist, so pondering whether an anime series is "looking out into the world" isn't something I concern myself with.
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a person who tries or manages to get out of captivity; an escape artist or escapee.
In 1864, the celebrated prison escapist Hamilton tunneled his way to freedom with 60 other captured Union officers.
adjective
Etymology
Origin of escapist
Explanation
An escapist is someone who doesn't live in the real world, but dreams, wishes, and fantasizes instead. If you're an escapist, you might avoid thinking about unpleasant things by playing video games for hours. Some escapists can withdraw into their own heads, distracting themselves with daydreams. Other escapists retreat from the world into movies, television, books, games, alcohol, or even exercise. The goal for an escapist is to escape the difficulties of life and their own feelings through these diversions. Escapist and escape are rooted in the Vulgar Latin excappare, literally "leave a pursuer with only one's cape."
Vocabulary lists containing escapist
Allen Toussaint (1938-2015) Tribute List
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"The Americans: Reconstruction to the 21st Century," Vocabulary from Chapter 15
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
When a superhero satire’s guesses about how bad life could get are outdone by reality, then the fiction has lost its escapist function.
From Salon • May 24, 2026
Fuel those escapist daydreams with travel inspiration ideal for decorating dreary cubicles.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 20, 2025
Enjoy the escapist refreshment, is what she's saying.
From Salon • May 31, 2025
Keyworth, from Aberystwyth, thinks plenty of people can relate to using escapist TV to cope with tough times - as her character did with Caesar.
From BBC • May 25, 2025
Whatever else Beethoven’s music may have been, it was certainly not intended to be escapist.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
